"talked" vs "was talking"

Question

"talked" vs "was talking"

The phrases 'was talking' and 'talked' are both correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Was talking' is the past continuous tense, indicating an ongoing action in the past. 'Talked' is the simple past tense, indicating a completed action in the past. The choice between them depends on whether you want to emphasize the ongoing nature of the action or simply state that the action occurred.

Last Updated: March 15, 2024

Use 'talked' when you want to describe an action that happened and was completed in the past. It is the simple past tense form of the verb 'to talk'.

Examples:

They talked about their trip to Europe.
She talked to the manager about the issue.
He talked with his friends at the party.

Alternatives:

spoke
chatted
conversed
communicated
discussed

Use 'was talking' when you want to describe an action that was in progress at a specific point in the past. It is formed with the past tense of 'to be' (was/were) and the present participle of the main verb (talking).

Examples:

She was talking on the phone when I arrived.
I was talking to him about the project yesterday.
They were talking about their vacation plans all evening.

Alternatives:

was speaking
was chatting
was conversing
was communicating
was discussing

Answer 1

talked

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate a completed action in the past.

Answer 2

was talking

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate an ongoing action in the past.

"talked" vs "was talking"

talked

was talking

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